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A LETTER BY PHILIP GOLDSTEIN
I am not a seat
warmer, I am a doer
"Men make history, and not the other way around. In periods where there is no leadership, society stands still. Progress occurs when courageous skillful leaders seize the opportunity to change things for the better." (Harry S Truman)
Have no doubt, I am pro quality growth! I am not a seat warmer, I am a doer.
Yes, getting things done breeds controversy because a very vocal minority wants little or no change. Understand this, as I have in the past, I will stay on task and contribute the best I can to making this city the best that it can be, controversy or not.
If you look at my past you will see that I stepped up to the plate in past controversial projects: Completion of the Marietta Loop, Marietta Conference Center & Resort, Public Safety Complex and various needed road improvements.
I am an advocate of quality growth and it does not come without controversy.
I do not care to see the square lifeless. It appears some people's view of the square is that it should be dead, only to be shown off in a glass enclosed coffin. To the contrary, the square is just like a person, in order to live it must grow or suffer the alternative, death.
As a chief advocate, proponent and cheerleader for the square, I have helped, prodded, renovated, sought tenants and tried to improve downtown. Why, after I have spent all of my life, as has my father and his father before him, would I do something to harm downtown? The answer is I wouldn't.
We have just completed the most substantial renovation on the square in decades. There is no more devoted cheerleader and doer for the square, than me. If you are in doubt, look at the old marble bank building or the newly renovated buildings next to Schillings that have been improved by my family and myself.
What we do today will set the tone for the future and prosperity of Downtown Marietta. I prefer to see us continue to build on current success, ensuring that it does not slip away. I do not wish to see us like the downtown in Savannah or other cities where their core has died or is dying.
Unfortunately some people want to keep their foot on the throat of Downtown Marietta. Why? They do not want change. Why not let Downtown Marietta grow and achieve its best?
Mixed-use development brings more people downtown. Activity breeds activity. Maybe this is what the opponents fear. Downtown's tourism will grow greater as a result and the local citizens will also increase their activity downtown in both the day and evening.
I do not fear change or growth, I welcome it as an opportunity to make the community even better because of it.
Downtown Marietta is a large part of my heritage, my heart and my soul. I am there daily. While others may talk about it, I live it. I am third generation of a family that has worked, lived and breathed Downtown Marietta.
We are the only family that has had a store on all four sides of the square, is still active there and has been for more than half of the life of the square.
As the square nurtured and helped my grandfather as an immigrant businessman, my father and I have helped to nurture the square when it needed it.
When many lost faith in downtown in the 70's and 80's, we continued to believe in it and actively put our money where our belief was.
It is not just a pretty place to see every so often. It is a business center, a government center and a cultural and entertainment center.
I welcome the interest of others in downtown, but please, give some credibility to the experience of those merchants who have worked on the square and have taken the day to day risk and belief in the square.
Part of what has been overlooked is that most of the merchants on the square are in favor of the building, knowing that it will have a significant positive impact. Shouldn't that be worth something?
"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands in moments of challenge and controversy." (Martin Luther King, Jr.)
I stand proud and firm for the future of the City of Marietta.
Sincerely,
Philip M. Goldstein
Citizen, Businessman and
Councilman, City of Marietta, Ward 7
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